wels catfish are among the giants of the freshwater world.
Despite its size, this huge behemoth is like most catfish. They roam the bottom of rivers and freshwater lakes in search of food. popular in both commercial and recreational fishing, people sometimes catch them for the flavor of their meat.
4 Wels Catfish Facts
- The common name wels seems to come from Old Germanic. it goes back even further to an old European word meaning catfish (the alternative name for this type of catfish).
- Wels catfish are thought to be exceptionally sensitive to chemical signals in the water. it also has the ability to detect fine water movements from nearby dams.
- wels catfish live in the cooling ponds of the chernobyl nuclear power plant. While these fish grow bigger than anywhere else, it’s not because they’re mutated by radiation from Chernobyl. it is because they are allowed to grow fully undisturbed by humans. Despite the radiation, the Chernobyl populations appear to be healthy and thriving.
- rare attacks on humans have been reported, but no one has lost their life to this species.
classification and scientific name of wels catfish
The scientific name for the Wels catfish is Silurus glanis. this name is believed to derive from an ancient Greek word meaning a large river fish. Wels catfish belongs to a genus that also includes other very large species, such as the Amur catfish and the Aristotle catfish.
appearance of the wels catfish
The most prominent feature of the Wels catfish is its enormous size. this river giant can reach up to 10 feet in length and weigh a record 500 pounds. This would make it the second largest freshwater fish in all of Europe behind the Beluga sturgeon. but most adult specimens are over 4 to 6 feet long and weigh 200 pounds.
The wels catfish is characterized by an extremely long, scaleless body, with a flattened tail, a wide mouth, an exceptionally long anal fin that runs the length of the stomach, and a sort of mottled gray or greenish-brown skin (they have been reported albino specimens as well). they have two long wattles (or “whiskers”) on the upper jaw and four shorter wattles on the lower jaw; these help fish find their way in the water and search for food in the sand.
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distribution, population and habitat of the wels catfish
Wels catfish is native to freshwater rivers and lakes in Europe and Asia. this species was introduced to western europe as a sport fish and even as far east as china. it is also found near the coastal waters of the Baltic, Black and Caspian seas. According to the IUCN Red List, they are considered a species of least concern. however, this masks wide regional differences in population numbers. in some areas appears to be threatened by overfishing and habitat changes. low genetic diversity is also contributing to the problem. Unfortunately, precise population figures are not available.
wels catfish predators and prey
This fish is near the top of the food chain. It feeds on a wide variety of different animals and in turn has few predators. like many catfish, it glides along the bottom of the water or ambushes its prey in a sudden attack.
what do wels catfish eat?
due to their enormous size, an adult catfish has few natural predators in the wild. humans are the only species that hunts them. northern pike will also eat juveniles.
what do wels catfish eat?
An adult catfish will eat snails, worms, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and smaller fish. they have even been known to consume ducks, crayfish, frogs, rats, and snakes, even leaping out of the water to consume an unsuspecting animal. the suction power of their mouths helps them capture prey in the water. young catfish fry, by contrast, feed primarily on plankton during their first year of life.
reproduction and lifespan of wels catfish
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot we don’t understand about the breeding and courtship behavior of wels catfish. the spawning season seems to take place between May and July of each year. Like many other types of catfish, the male will create a nest in the sand where the female will lay her eggs. it is estimated that the female can lay about 30,000 eggs for every kilogram (2.2 lb) of body weight. the male will then release his sperm into the water in order to fertilize them. during the gestation period of three to ten days, the male will guard the eggs.
After hatching, the fry will feed on plankton and grow rapidly. they can easily reach up to 10 pounds in their first year alone. the male will reach sexual maturity in about three years, while the female may take four years. the record lifespan in the wild is known to be 80 years, but 20 to 30 years is a more typical age of death due in part to disease and hunting.
wels catfish in fishing and cooking
The wels catfish is valued in some circles as an important game fish for expert hunters who have the proper equipment to catch this giant. boneless white meat is low in fat and largely considered a delicacy.
